Badal tells officials to ensure direct potable water supply

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today told field officers of the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS) to personally visit villages hit by scarcity of potable water to ensure its direct supply at their doorsteps.
The directive came following feedback from his recent Sangat Darshan programmes where the demand of providing quality drinking water to every rural household across the state was raised.
Presiding over a high-level meet here, specially convened to review water supply and sanitation schemes, Badal told Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) to immediately release the state's share of Rs 82 crore for World Bank financed project for improvement of 4,700 existing water supply works in 6,500 villages.

He directed the DWSS to complete this project within next two months.
Badal also exhorted DWSS right from minister in-charge to the Executive Engineer level to personally visit difficult areas at least twice a week and interact with the locals to get their inputs and ascertain the ground reality to bring marked improvement in the water supply and sanitation schemes.
To ensure free flow of funds for timely execution of various schemes, Badal told the Principal Secretary Finance to release pending bills worth Rs 77 crore forthwith besides releasing Rs 60 crore for creation of revolving fund for construction of toilets in waterlogged areas on top priority basis.

He also told the PIDB to release Rs 20 crore as a special fund for maintenance works in Kandi (sub mountainous) area for ensuring regular supply of quality drinking water there.
Badal further asked the Secretary of Water Supply and Sanitation Department to immediately set up a special Circle Office under the command of Superintending Engineer at Muktsar to prioritise the execution of different water supply works and sanitation schemes in waterlogged areas of southern Punjab.